


April Writes Playlist Challenge

by DarkDanc3r



Category: Gundam Wing, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Damnit Prowl Lives, Fix-It of Sorts, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-04-07 20:43:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14089272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkDanc3r/pseuds/DarkDanc3r
Summary: 30 days, 30 songs from a Spotify playlist. Characters and pairings will be at the start of each chapter.





	1. The Prompts

So.. I’ve been wanting to write more, and while I was listening to my Spotify playlist I came up with an idea. I put my playlist on random and saved every other song that played to a separate list, no matter what it was. I’m going to list them here, with the lyrics and a video (may just be a lyrics video) because the tone of a song may not match the lyrics. 

  


I’m opening up requests - pick a song, give me a character or pairing, and let me know if you want the whole song, the tone of the song, or just a lyric or two, and I’ll try to write at least 500 words. I want to do one for each day of April, so anything that isn’t chosen I’ll try and come up with on my own.

  


I’m going to stick with just Gundam Wing or the Transformers franchise, for these, for the sake of my (limited) sanity. And I’ll paste the whole list on my AO3 account, as well. I’ll leave comments open, so make requests there - it’ll be easier than trying to track this list across Tumblr and Dreamwidth.

  


So, without further ado - and in no particular order - the list:

  


  * Heavy by Linkin Park(feat. Kiiara) [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dmQ3QWpy1Q) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/linkinpark/heavy.html)
  * Battle Symphony by Linkin Park [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ab595h0AU) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/linkinpark/battlesymphony.html)
  * Battle Cry by Imagine Dragons [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZtMHSOq50Q) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/imaginedragons/battlecry.html)
  * Hole in my Soul by Apocalyptica [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP5id4xlWnQ) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/apocalyptica/holeinmysoul.html)
  * ~~Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken~~ by P!nk [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL4LNg-iyY4) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/wildheartscantbebroken.html)
  * The Great Escape by P!nk [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuz9S8i0u7A) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/thegreatescape.html)
  * But We Lost It by P!nk [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmE9IhRMu4M) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/butwelostit.html)
  * Warrior by Disturbed [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71BCqL2ecoE) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/disturbed/warrior.html)
  * The Catalyst by Linkin Park [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51iquRYKPbs) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/linkinpark/thecatalyst.html)
  * ~~Start Over~~ by Imagine Dragons [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uxEMkzi8B8) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/imaginedragons/startover.html)
  * Not Strong Enough by Apocalyptica [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DRB3ZFO9kA) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/apocalyptica/notstrongenough.html)
  * Waterfall by Sia & P!nk [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6e1TctNyw8) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/stargate/waterfall.html)
  * The Light by Disturbed [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LypjOTTH6E) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/disturbed/thelight.html)
  * ~~Stay~~ by Shakespear’s Sister [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCYaALgW80c) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/shakespearssister/stay.html)
  * ~~You’ve Haunted Me All My Life~~ by Death Cab for Cutie [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AKCne5vvaQ) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deathcabforcutie/youvehauntedmeallmylife.html)
  * ~~What Do I Have to Do~~ by Stabbing Westward [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNsVpL8TDLA) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/stabbingwestward/whatdoihavetodo.html)
  * Never Again by Disturbed [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajnQeE7042M) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/disturbed/neveragain.html)
  * Alive by Sia [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2NgsJrrAyM) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sia/alive.html)
  * Dead Man’s Eyes by Apocalyptica [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNja9qdkPQY) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/apocalyptica/deadmanseyes.html)
  * Downfall by Matchbox 20 [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aQWA_fAu8M) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/matchbox20/downfall.html)
  * Battle Born by Five Finger Death Punch [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyA1GL1touw) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fivefingerdeathpunch/battleborn.html)
  * Faraway, Vol 2 by Apocalyptica( feat Linda) [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPRsTrQA0cU) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/apocalyptica/farawayvol2.html)
  * Hold Me Tight or Don’t by Fall Out Boy [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG1JY0rt2Os) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/falloutboy/holdmetightordont.html)
  * Miss Missing You by Fall Out Boy [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVOBh7ItPFI) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/falloutboy/missmissingyou.html)
  * ~~Lullaby~~ by Nickelback [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OjiOn5s8s8) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nickelback/lullaby.html)
  * Rainbow by Sia [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM0d9uUgVSc) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sia/rainbow.html)
  * Sleeping at the Wheel by Matchbox 20 [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqxAj3l7KgQ) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/matchbox20/sleepingatthewheel.html)
  * ~~What About Us~~ by P!nk [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClU3fctbGls) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/whataboutus.html)
  * Wrong side of Heaven by Five Finger Death Punch [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_l4Ab5FRwM) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fivefingerdeathpunch/wrongsideofheaven.html)
  * ~~I Will Follow You Into the Dark~~ by Death Cab for Cutie [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDHY1D0tKRA) [Lyrics](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deathcabforcutie/iwillfollowyouintothedark.html)




	2. Start Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wufei faces a decision following the end of Endless Waltz.

Wufei paced back and forth in the hotel room he’d reserved - the most recent in a string of rooms too numerous to count. Every turn matched the turn in his thinking. To take Sally Po up on her offer, or not. Go back to his studies, or not. Try to reconnect with the pilots he’d no doubt disgusted or not. He’d only wanted to do… 

He wasn’t sure any more what he’d meant to do. Barton had been so convincing. A true word artist, to convince him that Mariemaia was Treize’s daughter, and that she was acting as he would have wanted. Trieze… an enigma to Wufei, and after the loss of his family and the main L5 colony, he’d been grasping at anything that would make sense. It left him open to Dekim Barton’s words and insidious plans. 

And yet, even with his involvement in Barton’s plans, he had been offered a position in Sally Po’s new Preventers. A position he was fairly certain would put him in power once more - the power to decide whether or not others were obeying the new world order. He wasn’t sure he could trust his own judgment on his own motives, let alone be trusted to judge the motives of others. How many Dekim Bartons were out there, waiting with the right words to lure someone with influence over to their side?

Wufei spun and strode the length of his hotel room again, chewing on his lower lip. He wanted, almost desperately, to start over, but how? Was Preventer’s really the best place for him? And what of his colony - the satellites that had survived the destruction of the main colony? How would he redress the losses they had faced, as one of the few remaining Changs? 

Fifteen steps, turn. Fifteen steps, turn. 

Start over. Shake the mantle of Nataku from his shoulders and take up his studies. Find the remnants of his family and work to reclaim what shreds of their future might remain.

Fifteen steps, turn. Fifteen steps, turn.

Start over. Take Sally Po’s offered position and work to prevent future men and women from falling under the words of the Dekim Bartons of the Earth Sphere. Defend the people of the whole Earth Sphere United Nation from themselves and words that could make even the sanest of men doubt themselves… their loyalties.

Fifteen steps, turn. Fifteen steps, turn.

Star over. Contact the other pilots and try to apologize. Try to argue his case against the only others who might truly understand what he’d been attempting to do. Try to reclaim the friendships that had been slowly growing as they counted down the days until they sacrificed everything they’d fought for in one last, massive battle.

Fifteen steps, turn. Fifteen steps, turn. 

Grab his mobile, power it on. Stare at the mail notifications. The missed calls. The face of his dead wife with a flower in her hair, laughing at something off-screen.

Fifteen steps, turn. Fifteen steps, turn.

Five steps from the window to the bed. A slow, deep breath. Time to start over.

“Maxwell… Duo. I’m sorry. Do you have time to talk?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [ilyena_sylph](https://ilyena-sylph.dreamwidth.org/) on Dreamwidth, who requested 
> 
> G!Wing, Wufei, Start Over. Whole song or lyrics, whichever suits you. These are the lyrics I based this on.
> 
> I never did you right, I know that  
> Too many sleepless nights, I own that  
> I said it time and time, I know that  
> I want to try again
> 
> Can we start over?  
> Can we start over?  
> Can we start over?  
> Before it's over, over
> 
> Cold nights, cold sheets  
> One more lonely empty hotel room  
> What I'd, give to, find my way back into you


	3. I Will Follow You Into The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jazz and Prowl swore vows before Primus, and nothing's going to stop Jazz from keeping those vows.
> 
> A Prowl lives after the 1984 movie fic.

The Decepticons had been beaten back, and Optimus Prime was laid out with all honors befitting a fallen Prime. Elsewhere, deep in Metroplex’s core, Ratchet worked frantically. Ironhide was dead, deactivated in the shuttle attack. Prowl... was supposed to be dead. There was nothing the medic could think of that would explain why Prowl’s spark hadn’t already guttered. His spark chamber was breached, his chest armor shattered and blackened. Only Megatron’s cannon could do that kind of damage, and only a miracle could keep Prowl amongst the living. 

Ratchet didn’t believe in miracles, and he certainly didn’t believe in Primus. How could he, when their war had raged on for millenia, decimating the Cybertronian population and destroying countless innocent worlds? What kind of God permitted that?

Ratchet was yanked from his brief moment of introspection with a curse as Prowl’s spark flared wildly in its broken crystal. He trailed off, mid curse, when the spark monitor indicated that Prowl’s spark wasn’t guttering… it was - somehow - stronger. A negligible increase, but stronger still.

On the heels of the next uptick in strength, Ratchet heard a mech break wildly, tires squealing their abuse. The medbay doors were nearly blown off their hinges by the force of the mech’s entrance, and the sound of a transformation pushed far too fast ground over the meeping of the monitors.

“Prowl… oh Prowler…” Jazz gasped, stumbling towards the slab Prowl was lying on.

“Jazz! This is not - what are you doing?!?” Ratchet barely had time to process Jazz’s appearance before the smaller black and white mech was scrambling up onto the medical slab, chest plates already parting. Jazz’s spark flared blindingly bright in the already brightly-lit medbay, and Ratchet could only watch in stunned silence as Jazz’s spark seemed to spill out of its casing to embrace Prowl’s. 

Ratchet could only stand and watch, and fume, as Jazz pressed his bared chest to Prowl’s shattered core. He’d never noticed, before, how the two sparks were the exact same color, down to the precise hue of silvery blue. He hadn’t known they were bonded - of course, he hadn’t asked - because everyone thought they hated each other. Or shared a very strong dislike, at the very least. When had they bonded? And why hadn’t they told him?!

Jazz was past worrying about what was on Ratchet’s mind, focused on the hollow space where Prowl should be. Without a care for what Ratchet might thing, Jazz threw himself into the darkness where living sparks weren’t supposed to go, calling all the while for the other half of his world. He would not leave his beloved to face the dark alone. They’d made vows to each other that he intended to keep.

~~~Five Million Years Ago~~~

“No force in the known universe will keep me from you for long. I will follow you into the dark and pull you close, and hold you until we are both ready to rest.” Prowl’s elegant - and rarely so expressive - sensor panels flared wide at the words, spoken so sincerely by Jazz.

“When the Well is full and the Pit will take no more, I will find you in the darkest places and cradle you close. Hand in hand, we will face eternity together.” He promised in return.

The Priest of Primus’ own sensor panels quivered at the depth of conviction in the two mechs before him. So rarely did mechs come before him with the strength of their love powerful enough to challenge Primus’ own hand.

What else could he do but bless this union of sparks? Especially when the light of Primus showed through their linked hands?

These two would challenge the Unmaker himself, and the Pit take any who tried to get between them.

Present Time

Uncertain of the outcome of this unexpected turn of events, Ratchet ordered First Aid closer with the spark support system, and dragged another slab over for Jazz. Either he’d have two dead mechs instead of just Prowl, or Prowl’s spark would be saved and need the assistance of the support system until he could repair Prowl’s actual crystal. Either way, Jazz was likely to be exhausted - if not dead - and the second slab would be needed.

He and First Aid waited anxiously to see what would come of the bond between the two black and whites, quietly amazed as color began to return to the gray that had crept over Prowl’s plating. 

After far too much waiting, awareness returned to Jazz’s optics, and he looked over at Ratchet, though he wasn’t really focusing on the medic. “I’ve got ‘im. Do what ya need ta, I’ll hold him against the darkness until he can come back ‘t us proper.”

Ratchet needed a moment to recover from the shock, and then with a barked order to First Aid he jumped into action. They wouldn’t lose another mech if he had anything to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Reb, who requested :  
> May I request: I will follow you into the dark  
> Either GW or Transformers  
> Please no suicide; this is not a suicide song but one about love transcending even death.  
> Thanks!
> 
> Used these lyrics:  
> Love of mine, some day you will die  
> But I'll be close behind  
> I'll follow you into the dark  
> No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white  
> Just our hands clasped so tight  
> Waiting for the hint of a spark
> 
> If Heaven and Hell decide  
> That they both are satisfied  
> Illuminate the 'No's on their vacancy signs  
> If there's no one beside you  
> When your soul embarks  
> Then I'll follow you into the dark


	4. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duo's worst nightmare is coming true - Heero is getting more distant, and what if it isn't work related?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request for the song "Stay" by Shakespeare's Sister. Not super happy with it, but this song always leaves me kind of on the fence about what it means. Hope this turned out okay!

Duo watched Heero move through the apartment they shared like he didn’t see anything in the room; didn’t see Duo sitting right there on the couch. Heero had been growing distant - never touching him just for the contact, back to rarely speaking unless spoken to first (and sometimes not even then)... Like he didn’t care about the man he’d once claimed to love. 

Like the vows they’d said meant nothing.

It didn’t seem to matter what Duo tried; he felt like he was living with a ghost of his lover. Even during the Eve Wars, when Heero had insisted that he didn’t need anyone, they’d interacted more. And yet, now, in this two bedroom apartment they’d moved into, Heero was distant. Time spent in his office - either at the Preventers HQ or in the second bedroom turned office - took up most of Heero’s day, and frequently much of his night. They weren’t on the same team at work - Une had put her foot down where it came to people in a relationship not working together - which meant that Duo didn’t know Heero’s work schedule or what missions he was assigned to…

Or if there were legitimate reasons to spend so much time away from home. He’d never really thought of Heero as the type to have an affair, but it might explain the distance…

Stressed to the point of insomnia, Duo could only watch as Heero put together a late dinner and sat at the dining room table. Chewing on his lower lip, Duo sat down across from him, reaching out only to let his hand drop before he actually made contact.

“Please, Heero… talk to me. I don’t know what’s gone wrong…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Heero frowned at Duo between bites. “I have a mission coming up that requires my full attention.”

To Duo’s ears, he sounded insincere. Like he was just giving excuses. “What kind of mission? I didn’t think Une had anything big on the table. Why hasn’t my team been called in to assist?” Duo asked - half demanded to know - trying to think of what could possibly be big enough to demand so much of Heero’s time… or why only one team would be taking it on. Okay, sure, Heero was the best, but something taking up this much of his time required more than one team, usually. After Heero’s team Wing, Duo’s own Team Shadow (Une refused to let him use ‘Death’ as his handle, the spoilsport) had the best scores and mission success ratings.

“You’ve done enough. My team is cleaning up the mess left by your team.”

Duo recoiled like he’d been struck. “What?! We haven’t been on a single mission that wasn’t a success!”

“Your last mission wasn’t.” Heero stood, dumping the remains of his dinner in the trash and washing his plate. It wasn’t like Heero to waste food, but it was just like him not to leave something sitting around. “I want you to stay-”

Duo wasn’t sure when they’d moved from the kitchen to the rubble and stench of burning buildings, but it was jarring. “Stay with me, Duo… the medic’s on his way…” Heero’s voice was strained, upset, and Duo wondered when they’d switched roles.

“Stay with me, love. I need you to stay awake…” What did he mean by that - Duo had been awake the whole time…

Just… maybe not in the same place…

“Stay with me…”


	5. What Do I Have to Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A character reflection on one of the reasons Zechs might have decided to drop a colony on Earth after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the song 'What Do I Have to Do' by Stabbing Westward.

Zechs Merquise - born Milliardo Peacecraft - stood on the bridge of his ship, staring into the vastness of space, and scowled at the battle cluttering that beautiful view. He scowled more darkly still at the flashes of light that were men fighting and dying to give him a chance at this final attempt to show Treize what he could really do. 

Treize - somewhere out there - was piloting the Gundam Epyon, and by all reports doing a fine job for a man who usually commanded the field rather than participating in it. 

And didn’t that just figure?

He’d spent the entirety of his time with the older man trying to catch his attention. To make him happy… or proud… or pay any attention to him at all outside of his martial skills. It never seemed to be enough.

Well, he was done begging. Done trying to make Treize understand the depths of his feelings - his NEED to be near the older man. Time to show Treize - to show all of them - what he could do. What he would do to forget Treize.

Forget everything Treize had ever wanted of him that never seemed to match what Zechs wanted.

In doing so, he would bring peace to the Colonies. Independence the Gundam Pilot terrorists had never managed to win. The Earth governments would be too busy taking care of themselves to harass the Colonies any longer.

He wasn’t being entirely selfish. He was flushing the interference of the Earth from the Colonies at the same time as he flushed Treize from his thoughts, after all.

Hopefully it would be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short - brain said 'stop' and I listened.


	6. Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four little words that started a landslide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P!nk's 'Wild Hearts Can't be Broken' is a great song, and made me think of pre-Revolution IDW Megatron. Specifically, these lines:
> 
> "I will have to die for this, I fear.   
> There's rage and terror and there's sickness here. 
> 
> I fight because I have to.   
> I fight for us to know the truth. 
> 
> This is my rally cry.   
> I know it's hard.  
> We have to try.  
> This is a battle I must win.  
> To want my share is not a sin..."

It started with poetry.

It grew with a line etched in the rest of a ramshackle lean-to. 

‘You are being deceived.’

A few lines written late in the off-cycle, when most of the miners were deep in too-few joors of recharge. Worked to the edge of collapse on too little fuel, ‘granted’ just enough time to rest overworked struts and worn cables, and then back to the grind. All to keep mechs with ‘better’ alternate modes comfortable, surrounded by their platinum and crystal towers. Just because they’d come online with drills instead of high-performance engines.

‘You are being deceived.’

A rally cry for those discarded because of damage…

...because of sparks ill-suited to the frames they’d been called to…

...because they’d dared to ask ‘why?’

There was a sickness throughout Cybertron’s many cities, borne on the wings and wheels and treads of those who looked down on the workers. On the ones who kept their gilded existence shining.

The poetry filtered out of the mines. Sometimes smuggled out, sometimes broadcast by late night DJs who were safe from the Functionalists and the Nobles, protected by strong security and the ghost-like freedom of anonymity.

In ones and twos and hundreds mechs spread the words, spread the thoughts behind that rallying cry ‘You are being deceived.’

They gathered under an unofficial banner, made noise that the Functionalists and their sycophants rushed to silence through Shadowplay and Empurata.

Megatron himself - source of the Manifesto and the poetry that was considered subversive - suffered at the needles of the mnemnosurgeons. But when a belief or cause is spark deep, messing with the mind could only accomplish so much. His ‘Decepticon Manifesto’ spread like wildfire when the disenfranchised learned that its author had suffered the fate so many of them were afraid of and had come out of the other side as determined as ever. 

If not more so.

Even the Empurata of Senator Shockwave - one of the most outspoken supporters of the Decepticon movement - could not stop the murmurs.

‘You are being Deceived.’

The revolution was coming and there weren’t enough Functionalists in the known universe to stop it.


End file.
